This invention is directed to a roller made for smoothing and/or compacting a surface and more particularly, a roller having a mechanical drive.
Rollers are well-known in the art. In one example, rollers are used for putting greens and turf maintenance. Typically, these rollers have an engine connected to a hydrostatic transmission to propel the unit. The hydrostatic transmission is connected via a chain to a sprocket system that is connected to a rubber drive roller that propels the roller back and forth over a green.
Hydraulics are desirable because they allow for a quick change of direction. While use of hydraulics are beneficial, there exists a potential risk of hydraulic fluids leaking and damaging or killing the grass. Also, because a hydraulic drive unit does not have changing gear ratios, the unit is generally kept at wide open throttle during operation. This leads to an undesirable noise level. Thus, there is a need in the art for a device that addresses these deficiencies.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a roller having a mechanical drive.
Another objective is to provide a roller having a lower noise operating level.
These and other objectives will be apparent to those skilled in the art based upon the following written description, claims and drawings.